Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum - Those Fallen
by Elias Pedro
Summary: Sequel to MPBT. A year has passed since Madoka sacrificed herself and became the Goddess - the light of the world. Michi and her friends serve the at the side of the Goddess faithfully while Homura defends Mitakihara with Mami and Kyouko, waiting for Madoka to return for her. However, trouble looms as the Incubators scheme in the shadows once more.
1. Fragrant Blossoms

**Author's** **Notes:** This is the sequel to Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum.

Hello everyone! It has been a while since my last major project here for PMMM, and I am sure glad to be back once again! This will be a full-fledged project that I will devote time for in the near future. It was just going to be a short after-story to re-explore the stories of the Puella Magi of the Second World War again, but it's turned out to become something more substantial. I blame Urobuchi and the Rebellion movie for bringing me back from the dead :P

I would like to give special thanks to the people who are helping me develop this story: _Hisoka_Dakimoto_, _Kaika_Hana_, and _ChiptuneImpulse_. I was really moved by the support everyone gave to MPBT, so I hope you will all support me again in this next adventure! Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy this new story!

_E. Pedro_

* * *

**Prologue**

"Hey, Madoka… are you still there?"

Homura Akemi mused to herself as she sat on a bench in the Mitakihara Graveyard facing the river. The afternoon sun sparkled in the calm waters of the river, casting a bright golden glow on Homura. She ran a hand through her long black hair then rested her hand on her heart. With hopeful eyes, she looked up to soft white clouds that sailed through the bright, orange spring sky. She was searching for even a glimpse of the friend she held close to her heart - the friend whom she truly loved.

"It's been almost a year since you left… but I know you are still here watching over me. I can still feel your presence."

The girl stood up from the bench and turned around to find the grand cherry blossom tree at the heart of the graveyard, its canopy brimming with brilliant pink and fragrant petals. Homura felt the rough bark of the tree and gently ran her hand down through it.

"Hideyoshi-san… you're still there fighting at her side, right?"

She then lowered her head and pleaded,

"Please bring her back to me soon…"

As she said this, she felt an ethereal presence coming from the tree - a small, soft hand that lined up against hers. This presence held Homura's hand gently and a gentle breeze caressed her face. Homura was mystified but she held onto the ethereal hand trustingly. Another breeze blew through and the presence vanished. Then, Homura found the petal of a cherry blossom in her hand.

Homura then looked up to the canopy of the tree and smiled.

"It's a promise then, Hideyoshi-san. I'll be waiting."

* * *

**Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum - Those Fallen**

**Fragrant Blossoms**

* * *

**Act MMXCI - Retrospect**

Gentle breezes blew through the idyllic, rural mountainside hometown of Michi Hideyoshi. The late Spring sun shone brightly over the town as well, heralding the coming of the summer months. The fourteen year old Michi sat pensively on the ledge of the stone fence of the Hideyoshi homestead. From that perch on the fence, Michi had an excellent view of the entire mountainside village. She had sat on this fence so many times over the past year already but she still could not believe her eyes. She never believed that she would ever have been able to see this place so peacefully again.

"Onee-chan! Onee-chan!" An excited voice called out to Michi from inside the house, "We have watermelon! Watermelon!"

Michi got off the ledge and turned to see her little eight year old sister, Matsuri, happily bounding up and down behind the window.

"Ah! Has mother come back from the market already?"

"Yes!" Matsuri grinned, "But it wasn't mama who brought the watermelon today!"

From the corner of the house, a blue-haired fifteen year old girl poked out her head. She was holding up a netted watermelon in her hand and there was a cheerful smile on her face.

"Hey-yo, Mi-chan!"

"Sayaka-senpai!" Michi greeted, happy to see her guest, "Welcome to my home!". She then gave Sayaka a low, courteous bow.

"Gosh, Mi-chan," Sayaka waved her free hand shyly, "I'm still not used to being called 'senpai'. You're much older than me after all!"

Michi chuckled and shook her head. "Sayaka-senpai. You've been at the Goddess' side much longer than my friends and I. The two of you are such close friends as well."

"Well… Madoka and I are buddies, but that doesn't mean you can't be her friend too." Sayaka replied with a smile, "Madoka really does love and care for every Puella Magi in existence, but let me tell you this - Madoka is especially happy to have you and your friends around."

Michi smiled back at Sayaka. She then pointed at the netted watermelon. "Well then, shall we?"

The girls then brought the watermelon inside, cut it into wedges then brought it over to the ledge for them to eat - but not before Matsuri took a quarter of it for herself, leaving the two girls to themselves. Sayaka and Michi chatted happily as they ate their watermelon. The blue haired girl cracked a lot of jokes with Michi who was laughing embarrassedly. Michi was tearing up from laughing and had not laughed like that for a long time.

Sayaka was amused as she watched the laughing Michi who was covering her face and wiping her tears. Michi was always a serious and uptight girl so Sayaka thought it was a delight to see this side of her every now and then. The laughter died down and the sounds of summer cicadas filled the valley. The wind chimes on the windows of Michi's home rang a clear tune as well. Then, the girls heard Matsuri skillfully plucking on her Tonkori* from inside the home as their mother hummed along. Michi closed her eyes, listened earnestly to these sounds and said,

"This is nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." Sayaka agreed, leaning back slightly. "It's sort of like a dream, huh?"

"A dream…" Michi repeated ponderously as Sayaka said this. Then, she paused in silence. Sayaka tilted her head and wondered if anything was wrong.

Michi shook her head then smiled at Sayaka, "Shall we walk around for a bit, senpai? There are some things that I would like to talk to you about… and there is something I want to show you as well."

The girls cleaned up after themselves then Michi showed Sayaka around town. The town was small and pristine and the villagers all came out to greet the two girls with warm smiles on their faces. Some of them even gave Michi gifts to bring to her family.

By the time they had gone through town, Michi found herself lugging a hand-woven basket filled with fresh scallions, tea leaves, mountain herbs and a host of other goods. Then, she got a jug of sake* that Michi ordered herself beforehand.

"Uwah..." Sayaka was amazed as she swirled the sake in the jug, "I didn't know you were into strong spirits!"

"That's not for me, senpai." Michi chuckled, "It's a surprise for Lorelei and Elise - a little 'thank you' for their Bordeaux from back then. I will give it to them sometime and surprise them."

"Ah." Sayaka smiled, "That's good then. You've really warmed up to the two of them, huh?"

"The two of them are powerful allies and are reliable people as well." Michi said with a smile, "It was a shame that we had to go through what we did back in the Second World War, that is all behind me now. It is a pleasure to fight side by side with them."

The two girls soon reached the end of town and they carried on down the road by the woodlands. Now that they were on their own, Michi put her hands on her back thoughtfully and walked ahead of Sayaka by a few paces. She then turned to Sayaka and asked.

"Senpai. Have I ever told you about the reason why I left Hokkaido?"

Sayaka shook her head.

"There's a part of my story that I haven't had the courage to tell everyone yet, you see." Michi turned around and started to walk forward again. "I've told Audrey and Ligaya bits and pieces, but I feel like it is time to let this off my chest completely."

"Just go on, Mi-chan." Sayaka gently urged, "I'll listen to you."

"Thank you senpai." Michi said gratefully, "It all started right here on this very path - I can still remember it clear as day."

Michi took a deep breath, sighed then continued her tale.

"_After all of the horrible things that I have done, I came to my senses right here on this very path to behold a most horrible sight. This peaceful village that I loved was set ablaze and the neighbors who I knew well were all dead, their maimed bodies littered on the streets. There was thick black smoke that covered the heavens and there were streams of blood that spilled into the rivers. I had a sudden and painful realization. I knew that all of this was of my doing._"

Sayaka watched Michi from behind as she spoke. She could only wonder what sort of pain Michi was concealing from her.

"_It was at this point that I decided that I didn't deserve to live in this world. I hid in a small cave deep in the woods at the foot of a nearby mountain. It was a dark and dank place where nobody would dare to look. I wanted to be forgotten… erased from memory so that my sins would disappear with me. This was my intention when I took shelter in that cave. Fate, however, had other plans for me and I found myself strung up in the Incubators' cruel game_."

"You mean the Taint of the Dreadnaught?" Sayaka asked.

"Precisely…" Michi nodded then brought her hands to her sides, "I found out that I was dragged into that foul scheme long before I met Audrey, Ligaya and everyone else in the Philippines."

"You did?" Sayaka was surprised.

"Yes…" Michi turned her head to Sayaka and nodded, "Things only started to make sense to me later on after observing Salvae and fighting the Incognitas… but I had a glimpse of a scheme that was of the Incubators' design. I learned about it on an evening of November 1916."

Sayaka rubbed her chin. That date sounded familiar to her somehow, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"_I was holed up in the cave I told you about, lying motionless as I tried to sleep. I had made a campfire earlier in the evening but it was already fizzling down to its embers. I wrapped myself in rags and cloths that I scavenged from the remains of the village… but the wintertime evenings of Hokkaido were unforgivably cold._"

"_I was trying to sleep, but I had been restless since the tragedy of my village. I also felt a strong presence from far, far away that unsettled me. Then, there were the faint, muffled screams and the wailing that I heard whenever my mind wandered. They were the strains of young girls like ourselves._"

"Puella Magi?" Sayaka asked.

"Yes…" Michi sighed, "They were all speaking in a myriad of languages that I did not understand, but I was somehow able to tell that they were cursing the very day that they were born."

Sayaka exhaled empathetically. She imagined hearing the cries that Michi must have heard and felt her stomach turn. The girls then came across a river with a wooden bridge that they started to cross. As they heard the sound of the flowing waters of the river, Sayaka's eyes bulged in realization.

"November 1916…!" Sayaka exclaimed, "That's around the end of the Battle of the River Somme!"

"Correct." Michi nodded.

"Oh dear…" Sayaka paced around worriedly, "Then that must mean that…"

"The strong presence that I felt was the Dreadnaughthexe of 1916." Michi finished the sentence, "It was the one who Lorelei Sankt fought and defeated."

Michi then stopped in the middle of the bridge and leaned forward on the wooden rails, looking out to the river. Sayaka stopped as well and leaned back against the rails, looking up to the sky.

"How did you figure that out back then?" Sayaka asked as she watched two migratory birds fly in tandem over the river. "Did you know about Lorelei and Elise?"

"I didn't know about the two of them yet at the time, no." Michi shook her head, "But I did learn about Dreadnaughthexes that night. The Incubator paid me an unexpected and unwelcome visit."

"I see…" Sayaka closed her eyes and let Michi continue her story.

**...**

"_Upon seeing the creature, __I demanded that it begone from my sight. I did not wish to have any more to do with them and their empty promises… but the creature did not leave. Instead, it had the gall to sit down before me, wearing its cryptic smile._"

"Why is the strongest Puella Magi in the world languishing here in obscurity?" it asked me curiously, "Should you not be out there in the world doing battle with the Witches you have sworn to fight?"

"_I told him that it was none of his business… I demanded that it let me be!_"

"But you have heard their screams, haven't you?" the creature then prodded, "Puella Magi from all around the world are rushing to Europe to fight the Dreadnaughthexe - the Dreadnaught Witch."

"Dreadnaught… Witch?" I repeated in terror, "You never told me about a Dreadnaught Witch!"

"Well, Hideyoshi-san…" the creature wagged its tail nonchalantly, "you never asked!"

"The Dreadnaughthexe is the most powerful Witch - a paragon, if you will." It seemed to grow excited as it spoke about the Dreadnaught. "She is the greatest messenger of despair and the ultimate nemesis of every Puella Magi. Only the strongest of magi can hope to defeat the Dreadnaughthexe."

"Is this another one of your tricks!?" I growled.

"_The Incubator didn't reply to me. Instead, it dipped a paw into a shallow puddle of water on the cave floor. The puddle glowed then started projecting horrifying images to me. I saw the bitter struggle of Puella Magi against the Dreadnaughthexe - a mass of pale, grotesque, twitching hands that spun bloody threads from the earth and sky._"

"_One after another, the Puella Magi I saw were defeated by this phantom and died horrible deaths. The clenched fists of the phantom hammered the magi, pulverizing them without mercy! Some magi were caught in the phantom's hands… I saw them scream and squirm until their bones broke and until their eyes went blank. The corpses of those who died were tethered and tied up on the bloody threads, dangling down from the heavens and spinning round like an infant's mobile._"

"_However, the unluckiest magi were those who didn't die. Those poor, helpless girls had already been broken. Many of them had lost their limbs and were slowly bleeding to death, but others were also taking their own lives. All of them had lost the will to fight and their hopeless eyes were welling with bitter tears. All the while the Incubator wore its cursed, indifferent smile._"

**…**

"Damn Kyuubey!" Sayaka cursed, gnashing her teeth, "Just thinking about everything that the Incubators have done makes my blood boil!"

"It pained me greatly as well, senpai…" Michi lowered her head and rested her hand on her heart, "I was furious, but I felt powerless at the same time. What could one Puella Magi, a girl cursed with the Incubator's foul magic, do to stop this suffering? Also... why was the Incubator showing me all of this carnage?"

A strong breeze then blew by the bridge and Michi held on tightly to the wooden rails.

"Then, I found out the reason…" Michi started hesitantly before gathering her composure again, "The Incubator came to tell me that I was next in line for the 'Succession of Witches'. I was going to succeed the Dreadnaughthexe of 1916."

"What!?" Sayaka gasped, "But, didn't Lorelei defeat the Dreadnaught?"

"She did, and the Incubator told me when Lorelei - or 'a certain German magi' - dealt the killing blow." Michi rested her head on her folded arms on the rails. "It also told me that the 'German magi' was terribly weak from the fighting and was about to perish. It added that once she passed away… I would succeed her."

Sayaka folded her arms and sighed.

"What happened then?" Sayaka asked.

"Naturally, I got enraged." Michi said angrily, "The Incubator never told me about the Dreadnaughthexe… let alone the Succession of Witches - the Taint, all of it. I summoned my naginata and impaled the creature… only to find out that there were dozens more of its kind congregated in the cave. It did not matter to me then… I just slew any Incubator I could reach and hack them to pieces. Then… from out of nowhere, I felt a great pang of pain that swept through my body in an instant... and deep in my heart, I felt an overwhelming sense of regret."

"No way…" Sayaka suddenly tensed up, "That's… the first thing you feel when you transform into a Witch."

"Yes it is…" Michi looked down to the river below her and watched her own blurred reflection on the water. "My Soul Gem was being ravaged by tendrils of swirling darkness… then I saw my nightmare for the very first time."

**…**

"_The dark, dank cave around me seemed to transform before my very eyes, dancing to the darkness brewing in my gem. The earth shook violently and the cave floor below me cracked open. I fell into the large crevice and plunged into a sea of darkness that seemed to have a life of its own. Tendrils of darkness took hold of me and dragged me down into the depths of the sea. I struggled and struggled, but I simply could not break free from the darkness. I held onto my breath for as long as I could, but I felt as if the end was near._"

"_On the way down, I saw the corpses of my neighbors sinking down with me into oblivion. They were laughing at me, mocking me for my weakness and folly. I tried to cover my ears, but I still heard their jeering laughter. Then, I couldn't hold my breath any longer and the dark water mercilessly filled my lungs. I started to lose consciousness and a strange force was lulling me to sleep._"

"_Then, leagues and leagues down below, I caught a glimpse of an enormous, terrifying phantom that looked straight into my soul. I was only barely able to make out its face, but I could tell that it wore a wide, malicious grin as i descended further and further below. The sea trembled around me as the phantom stirred and my ears rang with its tormenting laughter. It rose up to meet me and opened its mouth, ready to consume me whole._"

"_Then, the creature stopped and disappeared… the dark sea faded along with it._"

**…**

Michi breathed a sigh of relief and turned her eyes back to the heavens.

"I didn't know about it then…" Michi said in a tender voice, "but right before I was consumed by my grief, Elise de Lamarliere made her wish to save Lorelei Sankt and the Taint left me in an instant."

"It was a close call, huh." Sayaka wiped the sweat on her brow, "You were lucky."

"Indeed I was." Michi then said resolutely, "At that moment, I realized that the Incubators had unleashed yet another evil scheme to burden Puella Magi like ourselves. Also, I knew that there was someone out there somewhere fighting against this evil as well. That was when I knew that I couldn't hide myself from the world any longer. It was not yet time for me to disappear. Thus, I set forth... back into the world. The rest of my story, you already know."

"It must have been tough going through all of that, Mi-chan." Sayaka laid a hand on Michi's shoulder, "I can see why Audrey and Ligaya and everyone else came to rely on you like they did… until the bitter end."

"Actually senpai…" Michi then wore a warm smile, "I think that it was my friends who saved me - I was relying on them. I was able to carry on thanks to them. They are the reason why I fought the Taint with my own two hands… they are the reason why I fight for the Goddess now."

Sayaka smiled as Michi said this. She then pulled Michi towards her and embraced her from behind.

"Well, Mi-chan, we are happy to have you on our side. Madoka and I will be here for you from now on as well, so you don't have to carry your burdens alone. Don't be afraid to tell us anything that's on your mind. We're sisters-in-magic, after all!"

"Sayaka-senpai!" Michi was moved by her words, "Thank you…"

"Gosh~!" Sayaka let go of Michi and playfully elbowed her, "I'll have to get used to you calling me senpai, then!"

"And we all have to get used to you calling us in those nicknames you made." Michi then wore a sly smile. "Did you call Sakura-san anything special too?"

"... eh?" Sayaka blushed, caught off guard by Michi's question. She then snickered. "Does '_you'_ count?"

The two girls laughed and they then crossed the bridge to continue their stroll. They passed by a woodland path of pines and cedars that led to the foot of the nearby mountains. Michi pointed out to the mountains to Sayaka.

"The cave where I hid should have been around there beyond these woods. In this plane, though, the cave does not exist."

"Eeeh...?" Sayaka hummed, "That's odd, isn't it?"

"Yes." Michi agreed, "But i think that it is for the better. Kaname-san… I mean, the Goddess knew about that part of me when she saved me. Thanks to her, I can leave the past behind and devote myself to fighting for the future."

Sayaka then wore an amused look making Michi wonder if she said anything strange.

"Oh, it's nothing much." Sayaka explained, "It's just that you remind me a bit of the 'transfer student', that's all."

"Akemi-san, was it?" Michi was familiar with the person. "What makes you say that?"

"Hmm... I dunno." Sayaka made a carefree shrug, "I just have the feeling that the two of you would get along somehow. You'll have a chance to meet her."

Michi tilted her head slightly, wondering what Sayaka meant.

"The transfer student's a special case, you see." Sayaka explained, "Madoka wants all of us to be present for when the _time_ comes."

"Ah." Michi understood immediately, "I would be honored to accompany all of you then."

By this time, the girls found themselves back at the stone walls of the Hideyoshi household and the sun was just about to set over in the horizon.

"It's getting late, huh?" Sayaka noted as she looked up to the sky, "It's almost time to head back and join everyone else."

Michi nodded dutifully without hesitation. Then she made a request.

"Sayaka-senpai, please excuse me for a moment. I shall drop off this basket, gather my equipment and bid farewell to my family. We will be gone for a long time yet again, after all, so I apologize."

"Hmm… we will be going out on a mission again..." Sayaka then hummed and looked at the basket that Michi had been lugging around with her, "Though I guess it wouldn't hurt if we have one last cup of tea before we head out."

Sayaka then winked at Michi and gave her a thumbs up, "Whaddya say, Mi-chan?"

Michi's face glowed with delight. She then bowed to Sayaka.

"Thank you, senpai. I will make the tea right away."

* * *

**Epilogue**

Evening fell in Mitakihara City and an air of tension hung over the metropolis. From the concrete walls of the skyscrapers and from the pavement of the sidewalks and streets, large, white, robed beings with blank, distorted faces arose - Wraiths that haunted the Earth and spread despair in their wake.

"My, my… there are a lot of them tonight." Mami Tomoe noted with a worried sigh, as she looked out to the sea of Wraiths "They've been appearing in increasing numbers lately, haven't they?"

"Are you chickening out, Mami?" Kyouko Sakura taunted with a grin. She held onto her spear in a relaxed pose beside Mami. "The more Wraiths there are, the more cubes we can collect, ya know?"

The red-haired girl then reached into her pocket and pulled out a box of Pocky biscuit sticks. She shook the box open and offered some to Mami.

"Y'want some?"

Mami smiled slyly at Kyouko and took a piece. "It would be disrespectful to refuse food offered to you. Thanks."

"Honestly, though…" Kyouko then said as she pulled out a stick for herself with her teeth, "Tonight's gonna be a pain."

"But we will be able to manage." Homura Akemi then spoke. She summoned a majestic black longbow and joined the gunner and spear-fighter. "The three of us cannot fail now."

Homura then looked up to the evening sky and saw a meteor shower that traced lines in the heavens for a brief moment. There were seven meteors that flew by that evening in quick succession, each one of a different color: amber, olive green, maroon, silver-white, lilac, turquoise blue and powder blue. Homura watched the celestial sight and smiled.

"We're not the only ones fighting tonight, after all."

The Wraiths then noticed the three girls gathered on the ground and they all started to lumber towards them. Kyouko swung her spear skillfully in her hand and Mami summoned a dozen muskets around her in a circle. Homura then pulled back the string of her bow and formed an arrow of bright purple energy aimed at the approaching Wraiths.

"We can't be defeated here."

…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Mitakihara River, a lone Incubator sat before the grand cherry blossom tree in the graveyard and observed it with great curiosity. The Incubator too had a brief glimpse of the celestial sight and it was welling with great curiosity and excitement. As Mami, Kyouko and Homura fought the Wraiths, the creature just sat before the cherry blossom tree, wagging its tail as it was lost in its own thoughts.

"Well then..." the Incubator then said, "Shall we begin?"

**To Be Continued**

* * *

**Extra Notes:**

Tonkori* - A traditional Japanese string instrument from Hokkaido.

Sake* - An alcoholic drink made from fermented rice. It is commonly known as 'rice wine'


	2. From The Garden

**Author's Notes: **Hello again everyone! This chapter took a lot longer than I thought it would to develop - and balancing writing with university life is... you know how it goes.

I've done some edits on Chapter 1 and I've reintroduced the 'Acts' divisions. The chapters will be fairly long after all and I can't ramble about one scene all day long!

Without any further ado, MPBT:TF Chapter 2!

* * *

**Prologue**

"O… ow…" Homura groaned and winced in pain.

"Please hold still for a little while longer, Akemi-san," Mami advised as she dabbed antiseptic on a wound on Homura's cheek, "This won't take much longer."

Homura was sitting down on a low, round Ottoman chair in a corner of Mami's apartment while the gunner knelt down at her side, tending to her wounds.

"This is a small wound, Mami-san." Homura stated, "Magic can bind it in an instant."

"Now, now… it is wise for us to conserve our magic for combat." Mami wore a learned smile as she spoke. "We have a nice surplus of dark cubes from this round, but we never know when we would need them in a pinch."

The gunner then turned her head to the triangular glass table at the center of the apartment where a hungry Kyouko was stuffing her face with vanilla-frosted scones. Mami chuckled at the sight.

"Plus, Sakura-san insisted that we all come here after the battle." She added with a chuckle.

Kyouko turned her head to where Mami and Homura were with about half a scone still in her mouth. She mumbled something inaudible, wondering why Mami was smiling at her.

"We will join you soon, Sakura-san." Mami then said, "In the meantime, could you please check the teapot for me? The hot water should be ready soon."

Kyouko gobbled down the half scone and stood up from where she sat.

"Sure, sure."

She then picked up another scone from the table - this time, one frosted with pumpkin spice - before heading into the kitchen.

"It has been a while since you last came here to visit, Akemi-san." Mami then said as she prepared some sticking plasters, "Sakura-san also says that she doesn't see you much outside of our Wraith-hunts. Is something the matter?"

Homura lowered her eyes thoughtfully down to her hands resting on her lap. She then felt the silver ring on the middle finger of her left hand.

"I've had a lot of things going through my mind lately, Mami-san." Homura said, still feeling the mild sting from her wounds, "I was out of sync in tonight's battle, so I apologize."

"That's okay, Akemi-san." Mami shook her head. She then placed the plaster on Homura's wound, "But please remember that Sakura-san and I will be here for you… no matter what."

"I know…" Homura's face flushed for a moment, "Thanks, Mami-san."

"Tea's ready, guys." Kyouko suddenly announced. The red-haired girl then wore a playful grin, "Are you two having a moment or something?"

Mami pouted at the comment and Homura fidgeted a little bit. The three of them then laughed heartily and came together at the triangular table. Mami poured strong black tea for the three of them then served a freshly-baked apple pie. Kyouko's eyes sparkled at the sight and was absolutely delighted.

"You never fail to surprise us with your desserts, Mami." Kyouko rubbed her hands together and licked her lips in anticipation as Mami cut her up a slice. "Coming here is always nice!"

"I'm glad you feel that way, Sakura-san." Mami smiled, "And I am always happy to have friends here in my home."

Mami cut a piece for Homura then herself and the three of them started to eat together. Homura watched as the golden-haired host politely sipped her tea and as the red-haired spear-fighter wolfed through her slice of pie in an instant. Kyouko was already cutting up a second piece for herself and was urging Homura to try it as well. The time-traveler obliged and took a bite of the slice of pie on her plate. She was pleasantly surprised.

It wasn't thoroughly sweet. It was just right - the way it was meant to be. Homura wore a satisfied smile and continued to eat her piece.

"So then, Akemi-san…" Mami set down her teacup as she spoke, "tell us what's your mind."

Kyouko was still leisurely eating her pie, but she faced Homura attentively as well. The time-traveler lowered her fork and turned her eyes away from her two friends. She couldn't seem to find the words to say.

"Did it have something to do with _her_? Kaname-san?" Mami asked.

Homura nodded then looked out the nearby window where she saw the bright night sky over Mitakihara City.

"This is the world that she loved... So much so that she sacrificed herself to protect it." Homura clenched her fists, "However, no one knows about her and what she has done."

The time-traveler then twisted her ring off her finger and set it down on the glass table between them.

"All that's left of her is the 'Law of Cycles'... her legacy of hope. She became the light for the world..."

Homura's face then darkened as a thought ran through her mind. She opened her mouth but she stopped halfway. Instead, she shook her head. Mami and Kyouko turned to each other with concern, consulting each other on what to do.

"But didn't she break that cycle you always spoke about?" Kyouko asked, "Puella Magi like ourselves were doomed to die or to become these 'Witch' things."

"That's right." Mami quickly added, "Now, when our times should come, she will take us to Heaven. You yourself told us as much!"

"You guys..." Homura saw Mami smile and Kyouko grin.

"Sakura-san and I know how much you care about Kaname-san." Mami continued, "It's a shame that that we forgot about her, but our memories are coming back to us bit by bit."

Mami and Kyouko then showed Homura thin red ribbons that they wore on their wrists and they smiled at the time-traveler.

"And y'know what?" Kyouko grinned, "Mami and I are waiting for her too. We will wait for her together."

There was a moment of silence as Homura gathered her thoughts. Then, a small smile formed on her face.

"You're right," she said longingly, "She will come for all of us… when the _time_ comes."

* * *

**Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum - Those Fallen**

**From The Garden**

* * *

**Act MMXCII - Gazebo on the Meadow**

The Goddess Madoka stood peacefully on the edge of a pristine wooden gazebo where the wind gently blew and caressed her face. She held onto the wooden balustrades and looked out to the verdant meadow that surrounded her. There in that meadow, hosts of Puella Magi danced and played in peace, enjoying their new lease of life in eternity.

The girls waved to Madoka happily as they passed by the gazebo and the Goddess waved back with a peaceful smile on her face.

On the fall of 2088, the world bore witness to a tremendous miracle; Madoka Kaname became the Goddess of Puella Magi. Through her wish and sacrifice, the laws of the universe were rewritten and the eternal struggle of Puella Magi against the Witches finally came to an end.

Before the Goddess came, Puella Magi were doomed to meet one of two fates: they may die at the hands of the Witches they had sworn to fight, or they may succumb to their grief and become Witches themselves. The Goddess made a wish to destroy every Witch that existed before they came to be. Thus, at the magi's final hour, the Goddess would come to the magi's side, ease her sorrow and lead her to paradise in Heaven. This is what would come to be known as the Law of Cycles - the Goddess' law of hope that ruled the universe.

The Law of Cycles was what every Puella Magi, those burdened with the curse of magic, had hoped for. It was the answer to their prayers that had been unanswered for so long. All throughout space and time, the Goddess came to save these girls and lead them to Heaven, enforcing the Law of Cycles. However, the Goddess did not enforce this law of hope alone. There were those who fought by her side - seven magi who Madoka called the Archangels.

"Yo, Madoka!" Sayaka Miki called out, "Sorry we're late!"

Sayaka weaved through the throngs of magi in the meadow hurriedly. Her sky-blue hair stood out from the crowd and the golden fortissimo hairpin she wore shone in the sunlight.

Walking briskly beside Sayaka was Michi Hideyoshi whose bright blue, morning-glory patterned kimono and red hakama contrasted the green grass. Her hair was tied up with her silver kanzashi pin adorned with a pure blue sapphire gem.

"Sayaka-chan! And Michi-san too!" Madoka said happily, "Don't worry about it, I just got here myself."

Michi then lifted up the handmade basket she was carrying and smiled.

"I brought some tea leaves for today's meeting, Kaname-san. Audrey and Ligaya said they would handle the food today."

"Ah! That would be nice." Madoka sounded excited, "I am looking forward to it"

"It is our pleasure, Kaname-san." Michi gave a small bow which Madoka returned graciously.

"So come on over, you two." Madoka then said warmly, "Have a seat while we wait for the others."

Michi and Sayaka obliged and stepped into the gazebo with Madoka. A large, wooden, octagonal table sat in the middle and there were eight, elegant, white lawn chairs - one on each side of the table. Madoka waved her hand and a flash of pure white light came upon the table. Once the light dissipated, there were now eight sets of teacups, saucers and teaspoons ready.

The Goddess then pulled out the chairs for the three of them. Madoka sat at the side furthest from the entrance and Sayaka and Michi would sit beside her. Sayaka sat at Madoka's right-hand side while Michi's chair was to the left. While Madoka and Sayaka caught up at the table, Michi dutifully prepared everyone's tea.

Minutes later, as Michi was giving Madoka her cup of tea, she noticed that the Goddess was holding onto a small, pink sketchpad at her side. Madoka saw Michi's curious eyes and smiled.

"This is a sketchpad that I kept before I became a Puella Magi." Madoka shyly explained, showing the sketchpad to Michi. "Here, have a look."

"Whoa… I remember that sketchpad!" Sayaka gasped, as Madoka gave the pad to Michi, "Wow, that brings back memories."

Michi carefully opened the sketchpad and started to go through the pages with amazement. There were rough sketches of Puella Magi on the first few pages - and Michi recognized some of them.

"This is a sketch of Sayaka-senpai…" Michi hummed, "Though she didn't have her fortissimo hairclips here, huh?"

"Eheheh." Sayaka grinned, "It's a fresh new look, don'tcha think? I think it fits me very well!"

"Sayaka-chan," Madoka then chuckled, "Fortissimo means 'very loud', you know."

"Yeah, it does." Sayaka said proudly at first. Then her expression soured, "Hey! What do you mean by that?"

Madoka and Sayaka then laughed heartily like the best of friends. At first glance, Michi couldn't believe that these two were the Goddess and the chief of the Archangels respectively. To her, they looked like two normal girls.

"This one is that girl… Akemi-san." Michi then continued, pointing to the sketch of Homura on the notebook, "We saw her once before the Great Battle. I remember her well."

"Homura-chan is my special friend." Madoka then said fondly, "I still feel a tinge of regret about having to leave her, but we will be together again soon. I know it."

"My friends and I will help make sure that it happens, Kaname-san." Michi promised earnestly, "I'm sure that together, we can win this war."

Michi then turned to the next page and saw sketches of a much more familiar group of magi. Michi was surprised.

"These are…!"

"They're sketches of you and your friends, Michi-san." Madoka explained, "I had glimpses of your stories in my dreams and I followed your adventures step by step. Ehehe, it was almost as if I was there with you all!"

Michi smiled appreciatively. The six of them were drawn posing together side by side and with smiles on their faces. All of them were there: Audrey, Ligaya, Serafina, Michi, Elise and herself. Madoka fidgeted nervously as Michi viewed the pad and watched her expression closely. The Goddess felt smaller and smaller with each passing moment.

"The pose is a little corny, isn't it?" Madoka couldn't look Michi in the eye.

However, Michi shook her head and smiled peacefully.

"We look like a true Puella Magi team here." Michi said as she returned the sketchpad to Madoka, "It's just like how the six of us working together with you and Sayaka-senpai now."

"Ah." Madoka felt a wave of relief, "I guess that's true."

As Madoka took the sketchpad, the rest of the magi described in the pad started to appear on the grassy plane, hurrying towards the gazebo.

Elise de Lamarliere, a sharp-looking, red-haired French girl, approached the gazebo first. She was dressed in her sturdy steel plate-armour over a white tunic, tied in place with lilac ribbons, and her black-and-lilac skirt.

Beside the serious Elise was Lorelei Sankt, a lively, blonde German girl, who wore a radiant white Polonaise dress with a matching frilly white skirt. She trotted along in her own, leisurely pace like the soft white clouds floating through the blue skies over the meadow.

A couple of paces behind them was Serafina Larivenko, a toweringly tall, fair and raven-haired Ukranian girl. She wore a rich, maroon overcoat with black, frilled pauldrons and a braid of golden rope. Serafina snuck up behind Lorelei and Elise and caught them in a tight embrace. Lorelei was laughing heartily, happy to see Serafina again while Elise shook her head with an amused smile.

On the other side of the meadow, Audrey and Ligaya appeared together carrying picnic baskets.

Audrey, a tall, brunette and American young woman, carried her basket with one hand. She wore her solid-amber blouse with a brown, three-buttoned vest. Her simple white skirt with amber trimmings reached down to her fancy, low-heeled brown boots.

Ligaya, a short, young Filipina girl followed a half step behind Audrey and carried her picnic basket with both hands. She had curly black that was combed back with a white headband adorned with sampaguita flower petals. She wore a long, olive-green, buttoned blouse with puffed short sleeves paired with a matching olive-green skirt.

The five of them came together and walked side by side to the gazebo. The atmosphere in the meadow quickly became upbeat.

"My, my..." Sayaka smiled as the girls approached, "They're always a lively bunch, huh?"

They all stepped into the gazebo and Audrey and Ligaya set down their picnic baskets on the table for everyone to see. Audrey's basket was filled with an assortment of sandwiches while Ligaya's had sweet rice cakes topped with cheese and shredded coconut.

"So what do you think guys?" Audrey asked proudly, "We spent a lot of time on these beauties!"

"Yeah, we did." Ligaya agreed cheerfully, "We hope you'll like it!"

"Ooh! They look magnificent... and they smell magnificent too!" Lorelei said with excitement, "Let's get started then, shall we?"

The girls then all came together and took their seats at the table. Going clockwise, Audrey sat beside Michi, followed by Ligaya, Lorelei, Elise then Serafina. Michi served everyone their tea while Audrey and Ligaya gave out the sandwiches and rice cakes.

"_Mein Gott_! This is good!" Lorelei praised as she ate her food, "And the tea goes so well with it! A beautiful combination!"

"Now, now... Eat a little bit slower, _mon ami_." Elise spoke like a worried mother, "You might choke."

Everyone at the table laughed heartily at their banter then leisurely ate their food and had their tea. The atmosphere there was light and carefree, matching the aura of the pristine gazebo and the verdant, heavenly meadows around it. They chatted happily, telling stories of themselves and their adventures and entrusting their secrets to one another. That day, Michi was the center of attention as she, with Sayaka's encouragement, told everyone about her story and everyone listened intently.

This was a tradition that the eight of them had adopted - meeting there in that gazebo before going forth to continue their mission of saving Puella Magi from their despair. It was a moment's respite on a heavenly plane. Madoka watched the girls seated together on that table in the gazebo with her and the sight made her smile.

There on that table they became closer as friends and comrades. There, they truly became sisters-in-magic.

Madoka took out her sketchpad and turned to a new page. She then started to sketch this scene in the gazebo - a scene that she wanted to burn into her memory.

"Maybe one day…" Madoka thought fondly, "maybe _all_ of us can be together like this."

While she sketched, she reached into the basket of rice cakes and took out a white fluffy one to eat. Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, she suddenly paused.

Madoka closed her eyes and her brow was crumpled as she focused on her thoughts. Everyone at the table was so busy with their chatter that they didn't notice Madoka's pause, save for Sayaka.

"Is there something wrong, Madoka?" Sayaka asked, laying a hand on the Goddess' lap.

The Goddess shook her head.

"J... Just now," Madoka tried to gather her thoughts, "I sensed something just now… something distant, but I can tell that it is there."

Sayaka's expression quickly became serious.

"Is it something bad?" Sayaka asked, "Will we still proceed with today's mission?"

"We shall proceed." Madoka said, regaining her composure, "It is our duty to answer the prayers of the suffering Puella Magi. We can't let this get to us."

"But still, we should be a little more cautious, don'tcha think?" Sayaka suggested. She fished out four small, transparent cubes and set them on the table. "Leave this to me. I'll give the orders right now."

"Please wait, Sayaka-chan." Madoka urged, grabbing Sayaka's hand before she stood up, "Let's finish today's luncheon first. Everyone was looking forward to today after all."

The two of them then turned to the six happy girls seated at the table with them.

"Plus, we never know if we will continue like this forever."

* * *

**First Interlude**

"_This is a public service announcement from the Municipality of Mitakihara. Please be advised that there is a heavy rainfall warning in effect in the Greater Mitakihara-Kasamino Area. We advise all citizens to stay indoors as much as possible as there may be flooding in certain portions of the city. Once again, please be advised that there is a heavy rainfall warning in effect in the Greater Mitakihara-Kasamino Area. Thank you for your cooperation."_

The announcement blared out on the PA systems throughout the city in the late Spring of 2088. The sidewalks were filled with people lifting up umbrellas, rushing to seek shelter from the rain. The rain was coming down as a light drizzle, but it was slowly but surely picking up in strength. In a maze of alleyways behind the large concrete towers of the Mitakihara downtown, a small, young girl laid on her side, motionless on the floor.

"I… messed up, huh?" The girl mused to herself bitterly as she was slowly drenched in the rain, "That means… it's over…"

Her wet, white hair was unkempt and her orange eyes were starting to lose their focus. In her small, pale hands, she held onto a small, orange Soul Gem that was starting to swirl with dark colors. Silhouettes of white, tall chairs seemed to rise up within the gem while black cookies and sweets fell down.

The girl's eyelids then became heavy and the girl was slowly lulled to sleep. Her vision was starting to fade away, but she noticed that the rain stopped falling on her. She looked up to catch a glimpse of a clear, crystal-like barrier. Then, her consciousness left her.

* * *

**Act MMXCIII - Mitakihara Downpour**

From the dark, grey skies over Mitakihara City in the late Spring, rays of olive green and amber light descended to the earth. When the rays neared the ground, there were two flashes of light and Audrey and Ligaya appeared, landing comfortably on their feet.

"So this is Mitakihara, huh?" Audrey looked up to the tall city skyline, "This place is huge!"

"Oh, wow…" Ligaya scratched her head embarrassedly, "Just looking up gives me a bit of a headache."

"It's also starting to pour really hard." Audrey added, lowering the ranger's hat that she wore to cover her eyes, "Do you want a hat too, Ligaya?"

"I'm fine." Ligaya smiled as she produced out a small, black umbrella, "My dad insisted that I keep an umbrella handy in case it rained."

"Heh," Audrey chuckled, "classic '_laging handa_'*, huh?"

The American then reached for her amulet and transformed it into its small, Soul Gem form. Ligaya took off her silver bracelet and followed suit.

"Let's get started, then." Ligaya said with a smile, "We don't want to keep her waiting."

The girls held up their gems and walked down the avenue sidewalks. Crowds of people were going in all directions but none of them noticed Audrey and Ligaya. They were two foreigners wearing the bright costumes of Puella Magi and everyone walked straight through them as if they were just thin air.

"This takes a little getting used to, huh?" Audrey commented as a salarywoman just walked directly through her. As the rainfall grew grew stronger, the crowd started to thin down and the streets became empty.

"She should be somewhere nearby now…" Ligaya said as she watched her gem glow brighter and brighter. Audrey's gem was glowing brightly as well. All of the sudden, both of their gems stopped glowing.

"That's strange…" Audrey looked around cautiously, "Her trail just suddenly vanished… right about here."

Audrey pointed to the entrance to a narrow alleyway that ran through the Mitakihara downtown. The two girls looked at each other and nodded. Audrey recreated her amulet, Ligaya put on her bracelet and the two of them entered the alleyway side by side.

"I don't like the looks of this." Audrey clicked her tongue. She scanned the alleyway with sharp eyes, watching for even the slightest bit of movement.

"Neither do I." Ligaya agreed, staying close to Audrey's side, "I wonder if the girl we're here to save it alright."

"As long as we get to her, she'll be fine." Audrey tried to assure, but her tone wasn't very convincing. "We just have to find her, and…"

Audrey suddenly stopped in her tracks. Ligaya stopped as well and she turned to where Audrey was looking. Then, a bead of cold sweat ran down her brow. Just a few meters in front of them, towering, white-robed beings pulled themselves up from the pavement.

"Wraiths?" Ligaya gasped, "Oh dear, there's a lot of them!"

"They shouldn't be appearing at times like these…" Audrey growled, "What's more… those damn things are looking straight at us!"

The Wraiths grouped together, lumbering slowly towards the two girls in the alleyway. Their long, sharp claws twitched in anticipation and their heads tilted sideways unnaturally. Then, without warning, the Wraiths sprung forward at the girls with their claws, casting a wave of dust that blew through the alleyway.

"You bastards play rough, huh?" Audrey's roared from behind the dust cloud.

When the dust settled, the girls appeared unharmed behind an M1A3 Abrams tank that was glowing in olive green light. Ligaya let go of her tank and gave off a sigh of relief. A flash of bright amber light then followed and a dozen M119 light howitzer guns appeared in front of the Abrams facing the Wraiths. Audrey was holding onto her golden neckerchief and was grinning confidently.

"Now then, it's our turn! Fire!"

At their command, Ligaya's tank and Audrey's guns fired a volley of shells together. The Wraiths in front of them were incinerated in blasts of flame and shrapnel and the nearby buildings rattled from the force of the blast. Windows and doors shook violently, but the buildings weren't blackened - as if it was just a powerful gale had blown through the alley. Many more Wraiths, though, were lumbering forward towards them.

"Alright then, Audrey," Ligaya said as she closed her umbrella and clambered onto the top of her tank, "We're breaking through!"

The tank's engine then roared to life and the Abrams rolled steadily forward. Audrey followed closely behind, silently concentrating as she gripped her neckerchief tightly. The next rank of Wraiths quickly closed the distance and leapt through the alley to attack the girls. These Wraiths were then mowed down by the tank's three machineguns that fired on their own. One Wraith that made it through the hail of machinegun fire was quickly stopped by three shots to its face.

Ligaya exhaled and lowered her smoking Peacemaker revolver, looking out to the countless Wraiths that were still ahead of them. The Filipina held onto the turret tightly and the tank's main gun fired, blowing away another batch of foes. Then all of the sudden, dark shadows were cast over the alley. Wraiths were swooping down from above.

"Audrey!" Ligaya cried, firing the last three shots of her pistol at the Wraiths.

"I got it!" Audrey said, raising her neckerchief high up in the air, "Take this!"

Twenty-one M119 howitzers appeared with flashes of amber light, hovering above the girls and aimed upwards. They fired a volley of shells and a cloud of fire burned the swooping Wraiths mid-air. The howitzers then disappeared as quickly as they came.

"Ligaya!" Audrey called this time.

"Okay!" Ligaya patted her tank's turret then hopped back down to the ground. The tank, on the other hand, drove forward at full speed towards the main mass of Wraiths with all of its guns firing. The Wraiths all swarmed at the lone Abrams while Audrey and Ligaya snuck away into a side-street.

The gems on Ligaya's bracelet and Audrey's amulet were flickering with wisps of light. The light grew stronger as they ran through the side-street and into another alley - a dead end. There, the air felt oppressively heavy and their surroundings were unusual. Ligaya saw a page of a newspaper that drifted down from a nearby second-floor fire escape but stopped before it rested on the ground. It suddenly disappeared then reappeared near the fire escape and fluttered down once more.

A flash of lightning illuminated the sky and its light reflected off a large, transparent, spherical wall at the very end of the alley. The sheen faded away quickly and the wall disappeared.

"This must be it!" Audrey said, waving her neckerchief sideways. She called down her strongest gun, the M777 cannon, and aimed it at the invisible sphere. "Fire!"

The cannon fired its large, 155mm caliber round at the base of the sphere and the wall shattered. Long, jagged cracks appeared on the sphere and the young girl they came to save appeared behind the crevice. Audrey considered firing another shot, but the spherical wall was already collapsing.

Ligaya quickly rushed into the crevice and opened her umbrella, reinforcing it with her magic. She ran and knelt down at the girl's side, protecting her from the falling shards.

"Hi there." Ligaya spoke in a gentle voice, "What is your name?"

"... Nagisa Momoe." The girl said dazedly as she opened her eyes. "And you are…?"

"Ligaya de la Cruz - and that lady over there with me is Audrey Burnham. We're here to save you." Ligaya smiled and reached for Nagisa's hands. "Here, give me your gem."

Nagisa weakly nodded and trustingly handed Ligaya her corrupted gem. Cracks were already forming on the orange gem, but Ligaya stayed calm. She cupped her hands over Nagisa's gem and closed her eyes to concentrate. Pure white light bathed the Soul Gem and its darkness poured out in a small, orderly black stream that rose up and disappeared.

"There we go." Ligaya said as she returned the Soul Gem, "You don't have to suffer anymore, Nagisa."

"Thank you." The girl said graciously and held onto Ligaya's hands, "The two of you... are you both angels?"

Ligaya then blushed.

"Bb. Kaname says that we are." Ligaya bashfully replied, "Though… we're just Puella Magi who want to help ease everyone's suffering. We will bring you to Heaven."

"Heaven, huh…?" Nagisa peacefully closed her eyes, "That sounds nice."

"Yeah…" Ligaya said, holding Nagisa's hands comfortingly, "Just give us a little bit more time."

Ligaya then turned to Audrey who had already summoned thirty six of her M119 light howitzers before her. There were Wraiths blocking the side-street that led them to that alley and many more were appearing on top of the buildings around them. However, there was a small yet bright amber light suspended in the sky like a flare.

"I don't want to take any chances here." Audrey said, holding her neckerchief firmly, "They should be here any minute."

She then looked up to the sky and the dark clouds rumbled with thunder. Four rays of light - turquoise blue, powder blue, lilac and maroon, then descended towards the earth and burst into flashes of light. Michi, Serafina, Elise and Sayaka appeared from the flashes with their clothes and hair swinging wildly and with their weapons drawn and ready. A blistering flurry of slashes cut down the Wraiths at the rooftops in a split second.

Serafina and Elise landed on the rooftops while Sayaka and Michi dropped down to join Audrey and Ligaya in the alleyway.

"Cavalry's here, O-chan*!" Sayaka proudly announced as she summoned two of her sabers. She then saw Ligaya tending to Nagisa behind them and smiled, "Though… you guys did well to do this."

The wall of Wraiths in the side-street then started to loom forward like vultures towards Audrey's battery of guns. Michi walked over to Audrey's side and held onto her naginata in a calm stance.

"It's been a while since we fought together like this." Michi said as she watched the approaching Wraiths, "It feels a little bit nostalgic."

"Yes it does." Audrey smiled confidently, "This time though, we have a lot of people we can rely on."

"That's true." Michi agreed, "This will be over soon. And…"

"And?" Audrey asked.

Michi then wore a rare, warm smile. "I'm glad that you and Ligaya are safe."

Two more rays of light descended from the sky and Lorelei and the Goddess Madoka appeared together in midair, gliding gently downwards. Lorelei held onto her long, golden scepter and was weaving the stormclouds together over the Wraiths. Madoka, on the other hand, carried her majestic longbow.

"We're all here now, Audrey-san." Madoka then said said, "Shall we end this?"

"Of course." Audrey nodded dutifully, "Everyone, get ready! We'll take them out in one fell swoop!"

Nagisa opened her eyes and watched this grand battle unfold before her very eyes.

"Everything will be alright, Nagisa. The Goddess Madoka is with us." Ligaya assured, brushing the girl's unkempt hair from her face tenderly, "We're fighting for you and for every Puella Magi out there. We aren't going to lose."

"T-then… I want to join." Nagisa then said as she watched Madoka with fascinated eyes as the Goddess pulled back her bow with an ethereal flame.

Ligaya was surprised by Nagisa's words, not sure if she misheard the girl at first. Then, Nagisa spoke determinedly again.

"I want to join you all and fight at the Goddess' side!"

"I'm sure Bb. Kaname would be happy to have you." Ligaya nodded happily, "But for now, you need to rest. I'll be right here with you."

Audrey took a quick look behind her and watched Ligaya tend to Nagisa. She remembered an instance from a long, long time ago when she tended to a young Filipina girl who lost her father to the Bataan Death March. She remembered the iron determination and the fire in the girl's eyes and how they lit up with pride when she held her olive green Soul Gem for the very first time. Now, this same girl blossomed into a strong, purposeful magi with an indomitable fighting spirit and an ever-hopeful smile. The sight of Ligaya at Nagisa's side made Audrey wear a warm, motherly smile.

Ligaya looked to Audrey and smiled back.

"We'll be fine, Audrey." Ligaya assured, "I'll keep her safe from here, so give the order. I'll be fighting as well."

Ligaya then pointed up to the sky and four F-18E Super Hornet fighter planes flew low just above the skyline in a diamond formation.

"Alright then." Audrey said as she faced the Wraiths again. She then roared out in a powerful voice, "Let's drive these bastards out of town!"

* * *

**Epilogue**

It was late in the evening when Homura Akemi headed home from Mami Tomoe's apartment. She walked by the banks of the Mitakihara River on the way back - something that she always did. She would briskly walk through the silent path and return home quickly. This time, though, she stopped halfway through and sat down on the grassy banks. The evening breeze blew and her long, black, hair fluttered in the air.

"You are the light of the world now - the hope for every Puella Magi, right Madoka?" Homura spoke to herself as the winds blew, "But I… I want to see the light that you have for _me._"

Homura then looked up to the night sky and saw another meteor shower, much like the one she saw earlier that evening. The time-traveler watched closely and saw the usual colors sail through the sky: turquoise blue and powder blue, maroon and lilac, silvery-white, pure white, then amber and olive-green. However, Homura noticed a ninth meteor that evening - a meteor that traced a small orange line in the heavens.

That meteor shower filled Homura with hope every time that she saw it. As she sat there on the riverbank that evening, though, watching that celestial sight made her heart feel heavy. She shook her head, stood up and dusted the grass away from her skirt. Then, she continued her walk home in silence.

Hidden in the shadows, however, an Incubator watched the time-traveler intently. It wagged its tail as Homura walked out of earshot. Just as the Incubator started to follow Homura, another Incubator approached the first one and communicated in silence.

"So there's more to it than just a 'working theory', then…" the first Incubator thought out loud, "We've seen what we had been waiting for. This has become very interesting."

"Indeed." The second Incubator agreed, "Now we can start on the next phase."

**To Be Continued**

…

**Extra Notes:**

'laging handa'* - Filipino phrase for 'Always ready'.

'O-chan!'* - Sayaka's nickname for Audrey

While we're on the topic, here is the outline for Sayaka's nicknames for my original cast:

_Michi_ - Mi-chan

_Audrey - _O-chan (coming from the pronunciation of the 'Au' in her name)

_Ligaya_ - Ri-chan (coming from the [mis]pronunciation of the 'Li' in her name - Engrish!)

_Serafina_ - Sera-chan

_Elise_ - Eri-chan (same deal as Ligaya's 'Li')

_Lorelei_ - Ai-chan (coming from the pronunciation of the 'ei' in her name)


	3. Falling Slowly

**Author's Notes:** Chapter three is finally here! Balancing university duties, organization stuff and creative writing can be a pain... but we've pulled through! This one's a long chapter too, so I hope you all enjoy it!

* * *

**Prologue**

_- Mitakihara in the Spring of 2088, a year before the present time -_

Ligaya dela Cruz knelt down peacefully in the secluded alleyway in Mitakihara as Nagisa Momoe rested her head on the Filipina's lap. The heavy, oppressive air that had hung about the city was finally dissipating and the dark, grey clouds were parting, giving way to the afternoon sky of bright orange. People were filing back into the streets and carried on with their day, completely unaware of the great battle that took place just minutes ago.

"I want… to fight alongside… everyone…" Nagisa muttered tiredly in her sleep, "I have to…"

"There, there…" Ligaya caressed Nagisa's hair, "We'll be heading back soon."

As Ligaya tended to the sleeping girl on her lap, Serafina Larivenko called out to her from the rooftops.

"We've won, comrade! The Wraiths are retreating and the others are giving them chase - it's a decisive victory!"

"That's good to hear." Ligaya sounded relieved, "It's been a while since we saw actual combat, so I was a little worried… but I see we're still in top form!"

"The Goddess is on our side, so we have nothing to fear!" Serafina said proudly, hopping off the rooftop then landing beside Ligaya with perfect balance, "We can overcome any adversity when we stand together."

"Ah, that's absolutely true, Serafina! All of us put on quite a show today!" Lorelei added excitedly as she hovered above the alleyway effortlessly. She descended down to the ground gracefully and smiled, "And I see you've got this situation under control here, Ligaya."

"She's very lucky that she can be this relaxed at a time like this." Ligaya chuckled, watching the sleeping Nagisa caringly, "I'm really glad that we got to her in time."

She then turned to Serafina and Lorelei and asked.

"We will be heading back to the Garden soon, won't we?"

"We will." Lorelei nodded happily, "The Goddess just asked Sayaka to come with her for a moment, though. They were headed for the hospital, saying they wanted to visit someone there."

"Ah, of course." Ligaya said understandingly, "Could it be Bb. Akemi?"

"Probably." Lorelei agreed, "Frau Akemi _is_ the Goddess' favorite after was the place where Sayaka and the Goddess came from, so this is a rare chance for them to pay their friends a visit. They do have a lot of ties to this place after all."

"Speaking of ties… here comes one of them." Serafina said, pointing to the entrance to the alleyway, "That's… Mami Tomoe, if I'm correct."

Lorelei and Ligaya turned to the entrance and saw Mami walk cautiously into the alley. She was holding onto her golden Soul Gem with one hand and one of her rifled muskets in another.

"I'm sure it was around here…" Mami thought out loud, looking down the alley with sweeping eyes. Lorelei froze for a moment as Mami looked right at her, but the gunner just sighed. "There's nothing here, huh?"

"She can't see us, comrade Lorelei." Serafina reassured as Mami browsed through the alley, not minding the four girls there at all, "We don't exist in this time and plane after all… the same goes for comrade Nagisa now as well, it seems."

"Ah, you're right…" Lorelei said. She then scratched her head embarrassedly. "We don't usually linger around in planes like this, so I never really noticed, hehe."

Lorelei pointed to the entrance again.

"Look! There's another girl here as well!"

This time, there was a red-haired girl who also had her Soul Gem drawn out. She entered the alleyway as well.

"This must be Kyouko Sakura." Lorelei hummed, "It's nice to see that the Goddess' friends are working together…"

Before Lorelei could finish her sentence, Kyouko summoned her spear and pointed it at Mami's back. Mami turned around to face Kyouko and wore a look of utter displeasure.

"This is my territory, Tomoe." Kyouko said coldly, "Leave. Now."

"My, we're right at the borderlines of our territories, Sakura-san." Mami replied with an equally cold tone, "You're counting the centimeters of the map now - are you getting that desperate?"

"Are you picking a fight with me, Tomoe?" Kyouko growled.

"I'm not the one pointing her weapon at the other, am I?" Mami countered.

Kyouko clicked her tongue and lowered her spear.

"Just leave already. I don't want to deal with you right now." Kyouko turned around.

"Neither do I." Mami obliged, dissolving her gun and transforming back into her school uniform. She started to walk briskly out of the alley but stopped suddenly halfway and spoke with her back turned to Kyouko. "There _was_ a strong presence about here in this alley. I detected it for a brief moment but it's disappeared completely now. Did you notice how the rainstorm suddenly came and went?"

Kyouko stayed silent and Mami didn't wait for an answer.

"That is all, Sakura-san. Farewell."

"Yeah…" Kyouko watched Mami leave the alley. The spear-fighter grunted and kicked a can angrily. She returned to her everyday attire and walked out as well with heavy steps and hands in her pockets.

Serafina, Lorelei and Ligaya looked at each other with worried faces. They felt as if they saw something that they shouldn't have.

"Oh dear…" Lorelei felt her heart race fearfully, "I didn't expect that… I thought the Goddess' friends always got along. Aren't Frau Tomoe and Frau Sakura working together with Frau Akemi in present time?"

"They are working together now… and very closely too." Ligaya sighed, "I guess we don't know _everything_ about the past…"

The Filipina then smiled,

"But I'm glad that they've made amends somehow between now and then, no?"

"That's true." Lorelei sighed. "There's no use dwelling in the past. We still have work to do."

She then turned to the countless shards of crystal littered around them that neither Mami nor Kyouko saw. The thunder-wielder picked up the largest shard of crystal she could find and raised it high above her.

"So this… barrier-thing doesn't 'exist' here in this plane either." Lorelei said, examining the shard in the dying sunlight, "This must be what caused the interference… and maybe… just maybe…"

"What are you thinking, comrade Lorelei?" Serafina asked, looking at the shard perplexedly as well.

"I can't tell for sure just yet…" Lorelei replied, creating a silver-white cloth out of thin air and wrapping the crystal shard in it, "I'd like to study this first before jumping to conclusions - take it apart and see what makes it tick."

The German then pocketed the cloth-covered shard and looked up to the afternoon sky.

"One thing is for sure, though… there is malice lurking in the shadows. We must stop this."

* * *

**Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum - Those Fallen**

**Falling Slowly**

* * *

**Act MMXCIV - The Silver Garden**

Late in the evening time, the heavenly meadow of Madoka Kaname possessed a different kind of beauty than in the daytime. Nestled far above the clouds, the meadow had a perfect view of the cosmos and the light of every star could be clearly seen by the naked eye. The moon also hung closely over the plane, casting its bright yet gentle silver light upon the meadow.

Nagisa Momoe watched this majestic sight with fascinated eyes from within the gazebo at the center of the meadow. She held onto the balustrades of the gazebo with one hand and held onto Ligaya's hand with the other.

"This place is beautiful isn't it?" Ligaya noted, smiling as the excited Nagisa pointed out every detail of the meadow, "To us, this place is what we call the Silver Garden."

"Silver Garden, huh?" Nagisa replied enthusiastically, "That's a really wonderful name! Fitting too!"

"Come on then, I'll show you around!" Ligaya offered with a smile. Nagisa happily accepted and the two of them pranced out of the gazebo to explore the Garden.

"My, they look like they're having fun!" Lorelei noted, watching the two leisurely go about the silvery meadow. She then turned to Elise beside her and smiled, "We used to go about Straßburg like that back in the day, didn't we?"

"Yes we did." Elise reminisced pleasantly, "How I wish our lives could have been simpler… living our days as normal people."

"So do I." Lorelei agreed. She looked up to Elise and smiled. "But we're here now, together again. I could ask for nothing more."

Elise smiled back and ruffled Lorelei's hair jokingly.

"That's no way to treat a Magni Domina, Carissima!" Lorelei laughed heartily as she tried to escape Elise's playful assault. Sayaka, Madoka and the rest chuckled at the sight.

Just as they were about to climb up the steps to the gazebo, a Puella Magi came rushing towards them in a hurried yet graceful pace.

"Ah, comrade Anne-Marie*!" Serafina recognized the approaching magi, "It's been a while! How have you and the others been?"

"It's a pleasure to see you again as well, Serafina." Anne-Marie and Serafina kissed each others' cheeks and shared a quick embrace, "We have had our hands full with the Interior* as of late. Tending to hundreds of thousands of magi does take a lot of effort for us..."

"We've all been busy then." Serafina said with a defeated smile, "It can't be helped. We're almost done, after all."

"Indeed." Anne-Marie nodded. She then turned to Madoka and gave her a small nod of acknowledgement. "Anyways, I just came to report to the Goddess: the girls who arrived earlier have settled in to their places. All's right in paradise*."

"Thank you for your hard work, Anne-Marie." Madoka smiled appreciatively, "I will come to visit them again in a little while - and Sayaka-chan will come with me!"

"Very well, Goddess." Anne-Marie nodded again before Sayaka could react. "I'll take my leave and make the preparations now."

The magi then turned and started for the gate to Heaven.

"W-wait, what?" Sayaka's jaw dropped. Then she pouted. "Oh, fine… I would have accompanied you anyways, y'know?"

"Ehehe…" Madoka chuckled. "Thanks, Sayaka-chan."

The two of them then turned to the merry scene in the gazebo and smiled.

"We'll leave that for later then." Sayaka said, "We still have some things to do."

* * *

**Act MMXCV - The Eighth Angel**

The lively aura in the gazebo calmed down after a while and the girls took their seats around the octagonal table. Nagisa, however, stood proudly before them with a confident smile on her face. The girls all introduced themselves to Nagisa earlier, so all eyes were on her as she introduced herself.

"My name is Nagisa Momoe - ten years of age - and I am... or rather, was a Puella Magi from Kasamino. I went to school in Mitakihara, though - in elementary! Hehe."

The young girl realized she was rambling and gasped. She then gave everyone a deep, appreciative bow.

"Thank you very much again for coming to save me. Ligaya-oneesan, Audrey-oneesan and everyone else! I can't say just how happy I am to be here with all of you!"

Everyone at the table then applauded Nagisa who blushed and scratched her head embarrassedly.

"We're very happy to have you here with us now too, Nagisa-chan." Madoka then said with a gentle smile, "Ligaya told me that there was something else you wanted to tell us."

"Oh, yes!" Nagisa's eyes brightened up again, and she spoke with firm determination. "Please, Goddess, I want to fight at your side too."

Nagisa then paused and her tone became remorseful.

"I know that I can spend eternity in peace now and everything… but I know that I caused trouble for some of you."

She then turned to Madoka and Sayaka and gave a deep, regretful bow.

"I'm sorry for what I did to Mami Tomoe... really, really sorry! I wasn't myself during that time… I just simply lost control. Please give me this chance to atone for that!"

Michi and the others sat in their seats, looking at each other and wondering what was going on. Madoka and Sayaka, however, wore serious looks on their faces. The Goddess then stood up from her seat and, causing everyone to turn to her. She went around the table to where Nagisa stood, causing the young girl to tremble a little bit. However, Madoka's smile quickly defused the tension.

"Nagisa-chan, I see you still remember that time - but don't worry. I don't take that against you." The Goddess said as she took Nagisa's hands, "I have forgiven you a long time ago already, but I ask that you find the strength to forgive yourself as well… _Charlotte_."

Ligaya and Lorelei turned to each other, wondering what Madoka was talking about. The chatter spread throughout the table, eventually reaching Serafina who sat beside Sayaka.

"Comrade?" Serafina whispered.

"It's a long story, Sera-chan..." Sayaka sighed uneasily as she explained to everyone, "Charlotte was a Witch we faced during our time, and our mentor, Mami Tomoe… she…"

Sayaka shook her head and frowned," Let's just say that it was a really hard time for me and Madoka..."

"But that is behind us now…" Madoka then said, laying a hand on Sayaka's shoulders, "Puella Magi who became Witches had no more control over themselves and wreaked havoc wherever they manifested."

A bead of cold sweat ran down Serafina's brow as a terrible memory crossed her mind. Sayaka reached over to Serafina and held her hand comfortingly and the Ukranian slowly regained her composure.

"However, we are all free from this curse now." Madoka then beamed, "With you at my side I believe we can make a true miracle happen, so I cannot bring myself to hate Nagisa-chan or anyone else. If you truly find it in your heart to fight at my side, then I would be happy to have you!"

Nagisa was awestruck and struggled to find words to say. Then, she wore a tearful smile.

"I-I will, Goddess. I-I will do my best!."

Madoka nodded then closed her eyes in deep concentration. Then, a bright white light formed above their hands. A black trumpet with a colorful polka-dot pattern then appeared floating in midair and fell into Nagisa's hands. The amazed Nagisa clumsily catches it and Madoka presses it down firmly into her hands.

"I will be counting on you then, Nagisa-chan." Madoka said, "I'll leave Sayaka-chan in charge of training you. Then, when you're ready, you will fly with us as well."

Nagisa embraced her trumpet, holding it close to her heart as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you! I will serve you until the very end!"

* * *

**First Interlude**

- _Mitakihara 2089 - the present day_ -

"Ah… it's gotten colder lately, huh?" Kyouko grunted, shivering as she walked by the street running alongside the Mitakihara River, "The Siberian winds take no prisoners, huh?"

The spear-fighter's breath was fogging up before her, unsettling her.

"If you dress up well enough for it, you should be fine." Mami replied, walking calmly beside Kyouko. "Here, your scarf is on wrong - I'll fix it for you."

"Eh… fine…" Kyouko turned her eyes away embarrassedly as she let Mami redo her scarf, "... thanks."

Kyouko then brought out a paper bag she was carrying and pulled out a peach that she proceeded to devour.

"No apples for you today?" Mami noted with a sly smile.

"The peaches were on sale today." Kyouko explained, "Plus, I just felt like it, okay? Get off my case!"

"Alright, alright." Mami chuckled, "May I try one as well?"

Kyouko grinned and pulled out another peach for Mami to try.

"My, these are good!" Mami noted, "It's giving me ideas for a new dessert!"

She then turned to the third person walking with them down the road that day with an upbeat smile,

"Akemi-san, how does peach cheesecake sound for you?"

There was no response. Homura walked along with them but had been silent the whole time. Her eyes were baggy and she looked unusually tired. She then noticed Mami and Kyouko looking at her.

"Sorry… my mind was wandering off again." Homura explained, "You were saying something about peaches?"

"Think fast, Homura." Kyouko then said, tossing a peach over to Homura. The time-traveler caught the peach and Kyouko grinned. "You have to eat well in the wintertime - you gotta get your nutrients in, y'know!"

Homura took the peach and looked at it with unusual interest. Mami and Kyouko were already walking onwards together, talking about the peach cheesecake Mami was planning to make. Homura was walking half a pace behind them, but Homura didn't hear her friends and their lively chatter. All she could see was the peach that she held in her hands.

The time traveler turned for a moment to the Mitakihara River and her eyes widened.

"Mado-ka…?" She whispered in utter disbelief.

Standing there at the riverbanks was the friend whom she loved the most - Madoka Kaname - waving to her and urging her to come and join her. Homura's heart raced and her hands trembled with excitement. Then, the peach slipped from her hands.

"Ah!"

Homura quickly caught the falling peach midair, but the vision of Madoka at the riverside had already disappeared. Dazedly, she held a hand to her cheek where she felt the beginnings of tears welling in her eyes. She quickly wiped them off before anyone could see then bit into the peach. The sweet taste, though, along with her fleeting hope of seeing Madoka again, was gone.

* * *

**Act MMXCVI - Hypothesis**

Sayaka and the Goddess Madoka arrived in Lorelei Sankt's place in heaven thinking they would be greeted by the lively German magi. When they opened the doors to the orphanage in the quaint residential district in Berlin, however, they were greeted by a myriad of young, smiling children - boys and girls - many of whom were younger than even Nagisa. All of the children gathered around the two visitors excitedly, absolutely happy to see them. Madoka and Sayaka, on the other hand, were pleasantly surprised and let the children lead them into the orphanage.

"Now, now, _maitres et mademoiselles_!" Elise's voice rang clear through the childrens' noisy din as she clapped to call their attention, "We must treat our guests with respect! We have something we want to show them as well, don't we?"

The children noisily but obediently followed Elise and formed two orderly ranks. Elise showed Sayaka and Madoka then produced a pair of wine glasses and a glass bottle for them.

"Uh, Elise…" Sayaka felt a bead of sweat form on her brow, "We don't really drink…"

"It's grape juice, _mes amis_." Elise smiled and poured the juice for them, "You two are still too young for alcohol."

Sayaka scratched the back of her head and Madoka chuckled. The two of them then toasted each other and sipped their juice. This was how Elise de Lamarliere was truly like, thought Madoka and Sayaka. They were happy to have caught a glimpse of it there in the orphanage.

Once Madoka and Sayaka were settled, Elise turned to the children to conduct them. As Elise started her gestures, the children started to sing all together in unison.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot*." Sayaka noted, smiling as she listened to the song reminiscently, "It's a little different from the one I've heard… ah, but it sounds nice!"

The children beamed as they sang, clapping to the beat of the lively song, enticing Sayaka and Madoka to clap along as well. Even Elise was humming the tune herself and was gesturing with much gusto - a rare sight from the straight-laced French girl. Towards the end of the performance, Lorelei Sankt finally appeared, joining Sayaka and Madoka by the side of the couch. She sat on one of the armchairs nearby. The song ended and the three of them gave standing ovations. Elise turned around and bowed thankfully, then the children followed suit.

"Thank you for the wonderful performance, Lorelei, Elise. It was a delightful treat!" Madoka said graciously, "You're watching over some very talented children here."

"They are very talented, no?" Lorelei said reminiscently as she watched Elise shepherd the children back to their rooms for bedtime, "They were mere street-children who were lost in the streets back in 1913. They had no one to call their family and they had no place to call their home. I came from a wealthy family, yes, but I felt a connection with these children. I was moved by their struggles and the stories each and everyone one of them had to tell."

Lorelei then showed the visitors a dated lithograph. It was a portrait of Lorelei and those same children posing together in front of the orphanage.

"It's a long story, you see… but these children inspired me to build Salvae." Lorelei then said, taking the lithograph back, "Puella Magi are orphans in their own right, so I felt like it was my duty to save them - to bring them together into one loving family… to welcome them into a warm and caring home."

Lorelei then placed her hand on her heart and gave Madoka a gracious bow.

"But I must say, Goddess… you have done what I could only dream of doing. I thank you from the bottom of my heart - and I will fight for you until your dreams come to fruition."

"Thank you for believing in me, Lorelei." Madoka returned Lorelei's bow and smiled, "We are the family of those orphaned Puella Magi now and Heaven is their home… we will be there for them when their time comes. No one will be abandoned by cruel fate any longer."

"_Danke sch__ö__n._" Lorelei nodded in acknowledgement, "In any case, I invited the two of you over for more than stories and a song. If you would be so kind as to follow me, Sayaka, Goddess. Elise will follow later on."

With that, Lorelei led her two visitors downstairs to the basement and they passed through a large, spacious cellar illuminated by hanging kerosene lamps and filled with barrels of food, wine and supplies.

"So, how is dear Nagisa doing with her training?" Lorelei asked as they walked through the cellar, "Is she ready to join us on our missions?"

"Oh! She's been doing very well, actually!" Sayaka said proudly, "Her magic is quite powerful and she grows more skillful everyday. I'm the one training her, so I'm not surprised."

"Dear Anne-Marie Doucette told me she saw you two taking a lot of breaks in the Garden during training times." Lorelei chuckled.

"We can have our fun too, y'know!" Sayaka argued before laughing as well. "Seriously, though, she will be ready very soon! A little polish here and there would do her wonders, though… especially..."

The blue-haired girl then paused, thinking about her words carefully. However, they finally reached the end of the cellar so Sayaka held her tongue for the time being.

"This is my humble little workshop." Lorelei said as she opened the door and lit the kerosene lamps inside, "It's a place for small craftwork like pottery, embroidery or knitting - every building of Salvae had one like this."

Madoka and Sayaka looked around and sewing machines, a potter's wheel and an assortment of materials stowed away by a small kiln. Everything was set aside in that room save for a wooden workbench where a familiar crystal shard set firmly in its metal clamps.

"Hey… that's a shard from that thing we saw months ago!" Sayaka gasped, "The one we saw in Mitakihara."

"I've been running a battery of tests on it to see what I could dig up on it." Lorelei said, releasing the shard from the clamps and holding it up for Madoka and Sayaka to see, "I've finally come to realize what that barrier-device really was - it was an Isolation Field."

"An Isolation Field?" Madoka asked curiously, "Is that why Audrey and Ligaya suddenly lost track of Nagisa back then?"

"That is correct." Lorelei confirmed, "The Field blocked our senses, making it seem as if Nagisa disappeared. That is the primary purpose of the device, I believe… It was made with extremely advanced technology, but it had many imperfections - thank goodness. When one is close enough to the Field, one can detect any magical force within, albeit sporadically. Also, the Field was structurally inferior and was easily shattered by a single, precise 155mm shell from Audrey."

"That's true…" Sayaka said, rubbing her chin as she looked at her own distorted reflection off the crystal shard, "So these are just glass shells that we gotta smash, then."

"Oh no, there's more to it than that." Lorelei shook her head, "This Field also has a number of unsettling properties as well. It's hard to explain completely in just words, so please allow me to demonstrate the most obvious one."

The German focused her magic and sparks flickered in her hands, coursing through the shard. Lorelei's energy formed a draft of wind that blew within that closed workshop and the shard began to shimmer before becoming completely transparent.

"Phew…" Lorelei put the now transparent shard back into the clamps of her workbench then reached into her pocket. She pulled out her treasured black King chess piece, lifted it up as high as she could then dropped it.

The chess piece fell down to the ground but disappeared before it could hit the ground. It then reappeared where Lorelei dropped it to fall again with the same result.

"Ligaya told me that she saw something similar happen in the Field back in Mitakihara." Lorelei said, "It's bending time into some sort of loop for the environment, but we ourselves are not affected."

"Could it be because of our magic?" Madoka guessed.

"Perhaps." Lorelei sighed and shrugged, "All I can say is that whoever or whatever made this Field has some piecemeal handle of time. They probably can't jump between time periods like we do, but they have some form of temporal capacity."

The German then caught the King piece and withdrew her energy from the shard.

"This Isolation Field also has one more unsettling feature that probably was unintentional." Lorelei said as she pocketed the King piece. "The Field seems to attract Wraiths to its epicenter."

Madoka and Sayaka then suddenly jolted.

"Just now…" Madoka reported worriedly, "A Wraith tried to enter the Garden… it walked straight into the Holy Barrier and vaporized."

"The Wraiths truly are drawn to the energies of the Field." Lorelei then said, "That was my suspicion from the very beginning, though I am not very happy to know that I was right."

The door to the workshop then creaked open and Elise stepped inside.

"Lorelei and I also have another suspicion that we've been talking about in the recent days." Elise said as she closed the door behind her, "There is nothing but inhuman malice in this Isolation Field. Only the Incubators could have hatched up such a device."

"I had a feeling that they might be involved…" Madoka frowned, "But why would they do this? What do they hope to…?"

All of the sudden, the Goddess paused mid-sentence. Everyone turned to Madoka and saw her eyes turn blank for a moment.

"No…" Madoka said weakly as her legs wobbled and lost their strength, "It can't be…"

Madoka stumbled backwards, but Sayaka quickly caught her.

"Madoka! What's wrong?" Sayaka cried, holding Madoka tightly. Elise helped Sayaka to hold the Goddess while Lorelei fetched a chair.

The Goddess sat down, hunched over with her hands over her head. She closed her eyes and worriedly concentrated on the present day in Mitakihara.

* * *

**Second Interlude**

_- Mitakihara 2089 - the present day -_

"Akemi-san!" Mami cried out desperately at the top of her lungs, "Akemi-san! Where are you?""

"Homura!" Kyouko cried as well, "Damn it, where did you go!?"

The two girls cried out as loud as they could, but their voices were drowned out by the cold, howling winds that blew through Mitakihara City. Snow fell in a violent flurry, forcing Mami and Kyouko to shield their eyes. Neither of them could see past a few meters ahead of them and the sheer winds threatened to blow them off their feet. Still, they pressed forward into the raging snowstorm.

"I've been worried about her for a while now, you know?" Mami spoke to Kyouko through telepathy, "Akemi-san… I could tell she was terribly depressed and that she was desperately trying to hide it."

"I was feeling the same thing too…" Kyouko replied telepathically, "That girl… wouldn't think about killing herself, would she?"

"I don't know…" Mami answered regretfully, "But I have a feeling that I know where she might be at a time like this…"

The two girls found faint footprints in the accumulating snow that formed a trail. They followed the footprints into the Mitakihara Graveyard and towards the central courtyard where the grand cherry blossom tree was.

Suddenly, the two of them felt lightheaded and they disappeared into the furious sea of white.

* * *

Still seated in the chair in Lorelei's workshop, Madoka was in a cold sweat.

"Sayaka-chan… Lorelei, Elise…" Madoka lifted her head to face the three of them, "Please gather the others to the gazebo… and Nagisa-chan too. The time has come."

* * *

**Act MMXCVII - In Your Hands**

The gazebo in the Silver Garden was filled with a tense air that evening. Madoka sat on her chair at the table, leaning forwards contemplatively with her hands covering her face. Sayaka and Michi sat beside her in silence as the others arrived there one after the other. The merriment that always filled the gazebo whenever they met and the bright smiles that they wore on their faces were nowhere to be found.

Nagisa Momoe arrived at the gazebo last, accompanied by Ligaya. The young girl sleepily clung onto the Filipina's arm, rubbing her eye with her free hand and yawning. When she realized that they had finally arrived, Nagisa's energy returned to her in full swing and her enthusiasm showed in her wide smile. The tension inside the gazebo, however, quickly drained the young girl's glow.

When she saw Nagisa at the gazebo, Madoka rose up from her seat and managed to wear a small smile for the girl.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Nagisa-chan." Madoka said, "The same goes for everyone as well… but these are circumstances beyond our control, and we need to act fast."

The Goddess then stepped aside and showed Nagisa a new, ninth chair on her side of the table. Nagisa's eyes widened with delight and utter amazement.

"A ninth chair!" Nagisa gasped, "Does this mean…"

"I have good news for you, Nagisa-chan, but I would like to apologize as well." Madoka explained with a complex expression on her face, "Sayaka-chan and I have been following your progress closely over the past two seasons and we are nothing short of impressed. We believe that you have earned your wings as an Archangel. However…"

The Goddess lowered her head somberly and took a deep breath, "However, I must apologize to you for pressing this responsibility onto you so suddenly. As an Archangel, you will be accompanying us to present day Mitakihara. Your very first mission will be tonight."

"Please don't apologize, Madoka-oneechan." Nagisa said tenderly, shaking her head with a smile, "I already promised you that I would fight at your side. You know, I feel honored that I can finally be an Archangel! I can finally make good on the promise I made to you after all!"

"You really are an optimist." Madoka smiled. She then walked on over to where Nagisa stood and laid her hands on the young girl's shoulders, "I would have wanted to introduce you into the Archangels in a more peaceful setting, but your honest resolve is more than enough tonight. Close your eyes and listen to me. I shall give you your wings."

Nagisa closed her eyes and Madoka leaned towards her, whispering into Nagisa's ear. The Goddess whispered a phrase, masked by the evening din of the Silver Garden, that only Nagisa could hear. The two of them were surrounded in brilliant white light and a pair of soft, radiant, white wings sprouted on Nagisa's back.

"Whenever you need your wings, just focus on what I told you, and they will come to you and lend you my strength." Madoka said, "Likewise, you can dispel them in the same way you dispel your own magic."

Nagisa felt the softness of her wings in her hands and was absolutely amazed. She was fascinated, unable to believe that these were _her _wings now. The young girl turned to the others in the gazebo and saw that all of them had stood up from their seats summoned their own wings as well.

"Alright then, everyone!" Sayaka marshalled everyone out of the gazebo, "Time is of the essence, so we're gonna get this show on the road now!"

"Wait a second…" Nagisa said a little worried, "I don't know how to fly…!"

"Ri-chan and I will fly at your side tonight." Sayaka reassured, taking Nagisa's hand gently, "It takes a little getting used to at start, but you'll get the hang of it before long."

"She's right." Ligaya added happily, taking Nagisa's other hand and smiling at the young girl, "Just think of it like learning to walk… or learning how to use our magic! Just stay with us!"

The three of them then took to the starry sky together. Sayaka and Ligaya flew up into the cosmos with practiced ease while Nagisa clumsily flapped her wings.

"... I-I'm flying!" Nagisa cheered, albeit a little nervously, "I'm actually flying!"

Madoka and the rest of the girls spread out their wings and followed the three into the sea of stars. The Goddess flew at the center of the formation and outlined the details of their mission that evening.

"Half an hour ago, I lost track of my dear friend Homura-chan in present day Mitakihara." Madoka said hesitantly at first, still trying to gather her composure, "She just disappeared from the world all of the sudden - just like how Nagisa-chan disappeared when we came to save her. Minutes after that, Kyouko-chan and Mami-san disappeared in the very same manner."

Madoka then spoke with resolve as she continued,

"I believe that there is another Isolation Field is involved here. Mami-san, Kyouko-chan and Homura-chan… we have to save them from this trickery."

The nine of them then descended down towards Mitakihara City and saw a powerful snowstorm centered on the city on their way down. As soon as they came halfway down the atmosphere, the severely inclement weather threatened to blow them away but they stayed on course. They all landed in the main courtyard of the Mitakihara Graveyard.

"This snowstorm is unusually powerful! This isn't natural!" Elise grunted as she covered her eyes from the relentless flurries, "Is this caused by this Isolation Field as well?"

Lorelei gathered everyone around her, summoned her lightning scepter then raised it up to the sky. A sphere of wind then manifested, blocking the violent, howling gales and the unending snowfall around them. This left the girls standing alone in a quiet, empty courtyard and the grand cherry blossom that stood proudly in the center.

"I can sense their magic nearby." Michi then said, holding up her turquoise blue gem that was glowing with bright wisps of light, "Their footprints into the courtyard are still fresh - they are here around the tree. The Isolation Field's walls must be right in front of us."

"Alright then, comrades." Serafina drew a pair of her rapiers, "Shall we break this Field?"

"Already on it." Audrey said, summoning her trusty M777 howitzer aimed straight at where the walls of the Field were, "Take this!"

The howitzer fired its powerful 155mm shell at the invisible crystal wall and struck it with a blast of smoke and flame. However, this wall didn't shatter like the first time. When the blast fizzled away, the Isolation Field was still completely intact.

"What the…?" Audrey gritted her teeth and summoned two more M777's, "Maybe a little more…"

The three guns shot and fired their shells and struck the crystal walls of the Field. The result was still the same, however. The walls were totally unscathed.

"The designers of the Fields…" Lorelei said with a mix of amazement and frustration, "They must have fixed their flaws in structural integrity. Allow me to test this."

Lorelei whirled her scepter and struck the crystal wall, causing sparks to fly around in all directions for a good thirty seconds. The thunder-wielder then pulled back her scepter and sighed.

"It's just like I thought…" Lorelei shook her head, "We won't be able to break this new Field with raw force… though I believe we might be able to break it from within."

"From within?" Sayaka asked, puzzled by Lorelei's explanation.

"Allow me to explain my theory about this." Lorelei clarified, carefully watching the remnants of her energy coursing through the crystal wall, "The Field was meant to contain weakened magi and to prevent influence from the outside, right? In that regard, we can think of these Fields like eggs. Like a bird hatching from an egg, eggs are meant to be destroyed from the inside. Try to break the shell from the outside, however, and we'll see that it is surprisingly resilient - especially in this new Field. "

"So, then…" Sayaka rubbed her chin, "We have to find a way to get inside."

"Correct." Lorelei nodded, "That's what I tried to do with my magic… but as you can see, it's clearly refused me access. The same goes for Audrey, it seems."

Audrey groaned in frustration and shook her head.

"Damn this Isolation Field!" Audrey clicked her tongue and walked away from the Field, "What if none of us can get in?"

"We still have to try!" Ligaya quickly replied, trying her chances, forming a ball of olive green light "We can't give up hope now…"

The Filipina tossed the small ball of energy onto the Field, but it fizzed as soon as it touched the wall. Ligaya exhaled with disappointment but turned to everyone else, urging everyone to try.

"Excuse me, then." Michi then said, stepping forward beside Lorelei before the wall. She focused her magic onto her hand and cast a bright, turquoise blue light. The crystal wall then suddenly emitted a strong force, pushing Michi back. Serafina and Elise then followed afterwards, but were also refused in a similar manner.

Then Nagisa stepped up to the plate.

"I'll try too…" Nagisa said with a frail voice

Everyone watched closely as her hand glowed with her orange magic. Nagisa's hand trembled as she inched her way forward. Then, her hand went through the barrier.

"G-guys…" Nagisa felt sweat trickle down her brow, "It's letting me through…"

"Nagi-chan, wait!" Sayaka ran to Nagisa's side, "Don't cross the threshold yet!"

Sayaka reached for the crystal barrier as well and the wall didn't refuse her either.

"I'm good to go too, it seems." Sayaka said cautiously, turning to the Goddess, "Madoka - if you will."

"Right." Madoka approached the barrier and extended her hand forward. Her hand went straight through the crystal wall as well. "So it's the three of us who will be going in."

The Goddess then turned to Michi and company and gave an apologetic bow.

"I would have liked all of us to come and save them, but it seems that it cannot be so." Madoka then turned to Michi, "I fear that a long campaign awaits us inside this Field. Please return to the Silver Garden with the others for now, Michi-san. While the three of us are in this Field, I'll leave Heaven in your hands."

"Goddess… I…" Michi said hesitantly, "How can I possibly take your place…?"

"Michi-san." Madoka smiled and took Michi's hands gently, "I believe in you, so please believe in yourself. Do you remember the words I told you when I first gave you your wings?"

There was a momentary pause as Michi remembered that time - those words masked by the gentle Hokkaido breeze.

"I… I do." Michi held Madoka's hands as well and her resolve flooded back into her heart, "Very well… On my honor, I accept this responsibility. What would you have me do for you, Goddess?"

"Continue the missions for me, Michi-san." Madoka then embraced Michi and kissed her forehead, "There are girls who are still on the brink of despair. Save them. Many more still feel betrayed by their prayers. Answer them. Bring them to paradise as we have always done until I return."

"How will I know that the three of you have returned?" Michi asked

"You will be the first to know. I'll make sure of it." Madoka assured. "I promised you that you would be there with me to see Homura-chan, right?"

The Goddess then produced her pink sketchpad and passed it into Michi's hands.

"When that time comes," Madoka then said, "Please tell me about your adventures with everyone while I was away."

"I'll be sure to tell you a wonderful story when you return, then." Michi said, holding the notepad close to her heart, "We'll be waiting for you."

* * *

**Epilogue**

_In the middle of an early Winter storm, the nine of us said our farewells._

_Sayaka-senpai confidently called each of us by the nicknames she made for us, promising that they would be back before we knew it. Serafina joked with her a little bit, saying that Sayaka-senpai was excited to see Kyouko Sakura again. Sayaka-senpai denied the allegations emphatically - but we all knew better. Lorelei chuckled, saying the chief Archangel was blushing. Elise, on the other hand, whispered something to Sayaka-senpai. I wonder what it was that she said._

_Little Nagisa-chan, on the other hand, was hesitant to go. She clung onto Ligaya with tearful eyes like a child who was about to part from a dear friend. It was only when Audrey joined in that Nagisa finally let go. Audrey and Ligaya promised that they would make a grand banquet for Nagisa, with sweet tea and the finest cheeses._

_The young girl was clearly looking forward to it. In all honesty, so were we._

_All the while, the Goddess watched us with her warm, warm smile._

_Thus, Sayaka-senpai, Nagisa-chan and the Goddess held hands and disappeared together into the Field. The rest of us took flight and returned to the Silver Garden._

_And so began our long wait._

**To Be Continued**

* * *

**Extra Notes:**

Anne-Marie* - Anne-Marie Doucette, former Carissima of the Salvae branch of _Ville du Québec_, Canada. She was a magi who wielded explosives - a classic Grenadier, if you will.

Interior* - Anne-Marie is the head of the Interior which manages the internal affairs of paradise. The former Carissimas of San Francisco and _Ciudad de Mexico_ are Anne-Marie's point-persons in the Interior, along with a handful of volunteers.

All's right in paradise* - A nod to NERV.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot* - An African-American spiritual song. Message-wise, it is a prayer for salvation. The orphans here sang the song in the lively Gospel style, complete with voicing and rhythmic clapping! In the interwar period, the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer came to the US and was inspired by this very same song. He brought the song with him to Germany and used it as a means of peaceful protest against the Third Reich.


End file.
